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No reason why women can’t coach tennis men, says Judy Murray

Seal of approval: Andy Murray was looking for a coach who could help him make best use of his style

Published: 10 June 2014

Updated: 12:07, 10 June 2014

Judy Murray says her son, Andy, is not trying to prove a point by appointing a woman coach in Amelie Mauresmo.

The British No1 starts the defence of his Aegon Championships title at Queen’s tomorrow against France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu in what will be the first match for the most talked about partnership in tennis.

However, Judy, who coached her son during the early part of his career, says: “This had nothing to do with gender. Andy is used to having a female coach around — he did so for most of his junior career. The way that Andy plays and thinks about the game, and the variety he has in his game, he was looking for a coach who could help him make best use of that variety. And there aren’t that many coaches around who understand that way of playing.

“This was about what a coach could offer, and whether they were male or female didn’t matter.”

Mauresmo had great success with Marion Bartoli, coaching her to the Wimbledon women’s singles title last year and she has already worked in the men’s game, coaching Michael Llodra in 2010.

Judy believes Mauresmo can offer her son a new perspective. She told ESPN.co.uk: “They [female coaches] certainly have softer skills than male coaches. They are probably better listeners and there is less ego with women than men.

“What this shows is that there is no barrier. There’s no reason why a female coach who knows what she is doing, and who has the necessary experience, can’t work at the top of men’s tennis as well as in the women’s game. And we need role models to give younger female coaches inspiration and belief.

“We also have to create a pathway from entry-level all the way through to the top of the game. There mustn’t be barriers for female coaches.

“At entry-level in tennis, female coaches are probably out-numbered around four to one. As you move further up the game and reach national level, female coaches are outnumbered around 12 to one.

“When you go on the women’s Tour, almost all of the coaches are male, and then on the men’s Tour there are one or two examples of women coaching men, but they’re mothers and wives. But I don’t see a reason why a woman can’t coach a man at any level of the game.”